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As I was driving home from the beach last summer NPR announced that Bob Newhart, actor and comedian, had just died. I immediately recalled that in 1977 I was Product Manager Millitron Contract for Milliken & Company and  I was on the west coast calling on several key contract carpet dealers. One of those dealers was Lou Sugarman.

Lou asked our salesman with whom I was travelling and myself if we would like to go with him to Bob Newhart’s home where he had some business to do.

Obviously, we said yes! We were welcomed by Newhart in white socks, khakis and a T-shirt. For the next several hours Lou kept asking him to do some of his routines from his TV Show “Bob Newhart” which was being filmed at the time and his 1960 comedy album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” which was the first comedy album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200.

Newhart’s style has been described in various ways including deadpan, satire, stammering delivery and observational comedy. Most importantly he was a master of one person conversations. Two examples of that include him being a press agent for Abraham Lincoln where he responds, “you want to change four score and seven years ago to 87?” The other was Lincoln saying he was getting a lot of complaints about Grant’s drinking and didn’t know what to say. Newhart, the PR agent, told him to say,  “you are going to find out what brand he drinks and send a case to each of your generals.”

You can google his extensive career from 1958 until 2023 of award winning TV sit coms, stand up routines, movies and records. Highlights include 3 Grammy awards, Emmy and Golden Globe awards and being on the Johnny Carson “Tonight Show” 87 times as guest and at times host.

I was already a Newhart fan but fraternity brother Cliff Kuhn who played in a band and at intermissions would do Newhart routines got me to be even more of a fan. Interestingly Cliff went on to Jefferson Medical College and got his psychiatric training at the University of Michigan. He continued his interest in comedy and has become know as the “Laugh Doctor” with his HA HA HA Prescriptions and his many Smile Strategies. He has spoken at hundreds of various types of gatherings describing his researched “therapies.” And it all began with Bob Newhart!

Thinking about all that Newhart has done in the entertainment industry I do not know of anyone who lasted longer while maintaining a high level of quality entertainment, did so without profanity and is already getting huge coverage of his career since his death.

The time with Bob Newhart and wife Ginnie was the funniest time I have ever experienced! The fact he welcomed us with no visible signs of wanting us to leave and went along with Lou’s many requests made him the epitome of hospitality that night! Even more impressive was that he was the same in person as he was In various comedy roles, was married for 60 years until Ginnie died last year, was a lifelong Catholic and he and his wife raised their 4 successful children as Catholics.

Thanks to Milliken’s technology leadership for making possible my position at that time, Lou Sugarman for inviting us to the Newhart home and somehow keeping Newhart going for several hours AND to Bob Newhart for a sensational evening! His humor is as funny today as I recall it was in 1958 when he started entertaining. His many successes are well deserved but most importantly I thank him for being the person he was!